Updated and revised: March 2013
Added: 3 September 2007
Index
1. Introduction
2. Registering a Group
3. Notifying changes
4. The Approved List
5. Administration of Groups
6. Meetings
1. Introduction
All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are essentially groups with cross-party membership of MPs and Peers, which meet to discuss, campaign on and promote a certain issue. MPs often find that forming and chairing an APPG can be an effective part of a parliamentary campaign, as it can act as an extra vehicle with which to spread awareness of the issue within parliament and as a springboard to events and publicity. Chairmanship of a prominent group can occasionally give serious status to the holder; the Chair of the APPG for Beer and Pubs was known informally for some years as the Minister for Fun.
There are hundreds of All Party Groups, covering almost every interest and issue you could imagine, and ranging in scope from the niche APPG for the Wood Panelling Industry to the huge APPG for Africa.
All groups must be properly registered with the Registrar’s Office and listed on the register, which is updated roughly every 6 weeks when the Commons is sitting. You can see the current Register here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/memi01.htm
Despite their usefullness, APPGs are relatively informal compared with other cross-party bodies such as Select Committees of the House, (whose membership is decided by election, who are staffed through the Clerks’ Office and whose chairs are paid an extra salary). Any reports produced by an APPG may be co-authored by an external sponsorship organisation, and should not be confused with a Select Committee report which will be signed off purely by MPs.
2. Registering a Group
The administration of the Register is maintained by the Assistant Registrar in the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, whose address is: House of Commons, London SW1A OAA (tel: 020 7219 0401). To be included on the Register or on the Approved List (see below) a group must first complete the Registration Form for Cross-Party Groups. Once registered, the group is sent the Guide to the Rules on All-Party Groups, which sets out the rules on the day-to-day conduct of registered groups. If you have been asked to administer a Group, it is worth reading the Rules – or reacquainting yourself with the recently updated Guide – to ensure you know what Groups can and cannot do. If you know the Rules, you will be in a better position to advise the officers and members of the Group.
3. Notifying changes
Once registered, groups are required to notify the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of any change required to their Register entry within 28 days of such a change arising. Each group’s Register entry shows its title, officers, financial and material assistance received from outside Parliament, and relevant occupations of its staff. However, if a group is on the Approved List it has to provide additional information on its register entry, namely details of the Group’s purpose; its 20 qualifying members; any affiliation it has to the Inter-Parliamentary Union or Commonwealth Parliamentary Association; its voting rights; and the date of its last Annual General Meeting.
4. The Approved List
Whereas inclusion on the Register is compulsory for most groups, a Group may choose whether or not to apply for inclusion on the Approved List. Most Groups are on both. This is because it is only by being on the Approved List that a group gains certain entitlements (such as use of the All-Party Notices to advertise meetings; use of the terms ‘All-Party’, ‘Associate’ and ‘Parliamentary’ in the group’s title; and priority over unlisted groups when booking meeting rooms in the Palace of Westminster).
5. Administration of Groups
All Party Groups are run by the group’s officers and their staff, sometimes with help from external organisations who may provide funding for receptions or staff to run the group. The amount of work a Group generates depends entirely on how active it is. Some groups may only meet a couple of times a year and have very little output; others meet far more frequently and may engage in a range of activities, such as hosting events, conducting inquiries and publishing reports. If you have been asked to coordinate a Group, you should take your lead from the group’s officers as to what they want to do and how they want to do it, as no two groups are the same.
6. Meetings
Whenever you organise a meeting for an All Party Group, make sure you notify the Government Whips Office by emailing Julia Cooper on cooperjl@parliament.uk, so that it can be included on the All-Party Notices. This is essential for AGMs though not compulsory for ordinary meetings. However, most Members of the House of Commons and Lords read the All-Party Notices so it is a good way of promoting the meetings. The All-Party Notices are sent out on Thursdays with the weekly business and the deadline for submitting a notice is usually the previous Wednesday by midnight; but do check in case this changes.
You can see more information on All-Party Parliamentary Groups here: http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/apg/
ES March 2013